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Opinion: Sen. Rob Portman is the VEEP Frontrunner

Friday, July 13, 2012 - 03:06 PM

Congressman Rob Portman, R-Ohio, speaks during a ceremony in which President George W. Bush nominated him to be the next U.S. Trade Representative during a ceremony in the Roosevelt Room Thursday, Mar
(Darwinek/Wikipedia Commons)

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The first true inkling of how Governor Romney would serve as president will come when he announces his running mate to serve as vice president. What sort of attributes will Romney look for in the person who would assume the presidency in the event of his death or incapacity?

There is no way on the planet Earth that Mitt Romney will announce his pick for Vice President more than a week away from the Convention - doing so early would put that person under a microscope much quicker than the campaign and the VP nominee would like.

But that hasn't stopped everyone under the sun from speculating whom the Romney campaign might be mulling (myself included). The current name being tossed around is former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Unlike Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ character in the hit HBO show “Veep,” Romney will need someone serious, experienced and able to step in to the most powerful job in the world. For my money, I believe Romney needs a Washington insider not unlike Dick Cheney – someone who has strong contacts on Capitol Hill and the K Street Community. This is why I believe Ohio’s junior Senator, Rob Portman has the inside track to become Romney’s running mate.

A former Congressman, Portman also served as Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as well as the United States Trade Representative, both during the George W. Bush Administration. Portman has friends on either end of Pennsylvania Avenue and he could strengthen Republican confidence in Romney while also hailing from the key battleground state of Ohio. You heard it here first.

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He recently served as a Resident Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government Institute of Politics for the Fall 2011 term at Harvard University. From 2002 to 2004, he was Acting Director of USA Freedom Corps and special assistant to President George W. Bush. He began service at the White House in 2001 as deputy assistant to Vice President Cheney for domestic policy, advising the Vice President on policy initiatives in health care, budget, tax and other policy areas.

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